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Broads Boater and Proud


LondonRascal

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Having been a boat owner and Broads addict for the last 30+ years and owned boats of all sizes, I can honestly say the best fun was with out first little 18ft Shetland, we could go anywhere in her, then we moved up to a 25ft Seamaster back then I could still get her under all the bridges, we moved up to 27ft and lost Potter, my latest boat is a Birchwood 25 with a hardtop, so no Potter, Wayford or Wroxham now so I've now lost a lot of the Broads, but I don't care! for me it's all about the beauty of the Broads and the people I meet, I've lost count of the people I've met over the years that have bought boats and not given the actual Broads, the bridges or restrictions any thought, then do nothing but moan they can't get under Potter or so and so place or Bridge, unfortunatly being me I just say should have bought a smaller boat then! the trouble is a lot of people want all the home comforts on a boat these days and that usually means a bigger boat that can't go everywhere, on most of my boats I've never had heating, hot water or mains power, Judi and I spend weeks out at a time and love every minute, my only concession on most boats has been the 12v TV as Judi loves her soaps, I know it's horses for courses but the simple life on the Boat is great for us, it's totally different, so as I say even though I'm more restricted now, it's about being on the Broads and the people I meet, I can't think of any other activity where you meet people that give you the time of day, total strangers talk to or wave at you, and we all help each other, being based at Stalham I could quite happily spend all my time on the Ant, I've never had two trips the same on there, it changes even in different light or what time of day it is,,

Frank,,, 

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1 hour ago, Labrador said:

Ahh, a proper boat. Bet that goes under potter bridge, built back in the days when they built boats to go under the bridges. Not like today, they build a boat and then complain that it won't go under potter, etc. Haven't they thought of designing one that will?

It does indeed go under All the broads bridges, airdraft is a touch over 6ft.

Doug.

image.jpeg

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And me! I fit too. Sorry about the photo, its from the day they bought me.

5647d863b89f5_janetanneatpurchase.thumb.

It was the end of the 70's when hire boats that would not go under Potter, Beccles and Wroxham bridges became acceptable. The quest for 'private look' hire boats plus the need for new look fleets with more and more kit aboard meant upwards as well as longer and wider. Now, some 35 years later, we can see most of the current new builds are moving back to full access of the network, something I think is excellent news.

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8 hours ago, JanetAnne said:

And me! I fit too. Sorry about the photo, its from the day they bought me.

5647d863b89f5_janetanneatpurchase.thumb.

It was the end of the 70's when hire boats that would not go under Potter, Beccles and Wroxham bridges became acceptable. The quest for 'private look' hire boats plus the need for new look fleets with more and more kit aboard meant upwards as well as longer and wider. Now, some 35 years later, we can see most of the current new builds are moving back to full access of the network, something I think is excellent news.

Love the thatched cockpit roof!

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28 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said:

Barry - I'm due onboard first week in Dec - I'll accurately measured her then, and also finish orf that little job for you - Assuming she is where she should be of course?

Griff

Hi Griff,

you couldn't measure Nipper with the roof up could you all I know is it's around 8ft ish. Would be nice to know for certain.

Doug.

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Just to throw caution to the wind and upset the apple cart - I had the chance to helm a friends fly bridge beast a few months ago and whilst I am not a lover of Fly Bridges I can see their attraction. 

OK so it will never go under any of the bridges (not even Beccles Road), but I saw so much of the Broads that I have never seen before. Going from Brundall down to Oulton Broad was a whole new set of scenery.

So whilst you may not like the "Gin Palaces" - the view from that height is something you wont see from even a modern dual helm Broads cruiser. Worth a shot if you ever get an invite - and make sure they have some damn gin onboard:taunt:

I do still love the look of the old woodies as well.

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I agree with you the upper helm is really the only place to enjoy the Broads, I have only used the lower helm on a couple of occasions, I would rather dress in wet weather gear and suffer the elements and this would only be the case if we had to get back to the moorings or catch a tide.

Sorry no gin usually aboard, we usually only have that for our crew when on a narrow boat holiday and then I drink beer. Gin however is good for cleaning machine parts and electrical contacts.

Regards

Alan

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When I was a service engineer and on call for faults in pubs, I always used to ask the landlord for a measure of gin for cleaning parts.

I was on site when a certain pub was changing tenants. The old landlady used to have a silver goblet behind the bar, she could pull a measure or two into her goblet, drink it wash it out and replace it back on the self whilst her husband was changing a barrel. On the day of transfer there was no beer in stock but there was 8 gallons of Gin on stock.

Regards

Alan

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